


Break It Fix It

by MultiQuantumWorlds



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin helped Ben Solo, Canon Compliant, Fix-It of Sorts, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Force Ghost(s), Gen, Happy Ending, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, anakin is the chosen one, complements and fixes the sequels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22109791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultiQuantumWorlds/pseuds/MultiQuantumWorlds
Summary: The Force had lost its balance again as the galaxy was threatened by the First Order led by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke and Anakin's own grandson Ben solo, now calling himself Kylo Ren. The prophecy that the Chosen One would bring balance to the Force became obscure. Deeply disturbed, Anakin managed to visit his fallen grandson, trying to call him back to the light side, but things did not go as he wished. In the meantime he was struggling with the regret and guilt in his heart, especially for the irreparable relationship between him and Leia. Would he be able to save his grandson? Would he truly redeem himself and get forgiveness from Leia? Would he fulfill his ultimate destiny as the Chosen One?***This is a crossover story between the Star Wars sequel trilogy and what happened to Anakin Skywalker's ghost during that time, to make the nine movies together worthy by the name "Skywalker Saga". ***
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ben Solo, Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren & Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Sheev Palpatine & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	1. The First Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Ever wondered why Anakin's ghost didn't visit Kylo Ren even though he was such a fan boy of him? Ever imagined what might happen when Anakin did visit Kylo Ren? 
> 
> As an old Star Wars fan, I was disappointed by the way the Sequels dealt with Skywalker's legend, especially for Anakin. It doesn't make sense to me that Anakin showed his voice to Rey but never paid any attention to Ben, his own grandson, who was taking every wrong step that he had taken because he worshiped him. The return of Palpatine is totally a humiliation to the concept of "The Chosen One". And how can you call it "Rise of the Skywalker" when the Skywalker's family line just ended? 
> 
> That is why I'm writing this crossover story with the sequel trilogy from the perspective of Anakin's ghost. Anakin will play a much more important role than shown in the movies not only as Ben's grandfather, but also as the Chosen One. The Skywalker Saga can only be completed with him winding it up. 
> 
> This is sort of a fix-it but I try not to change the main canon plot. I'm just adding to where the movies did not show to make it more sound and rich to me.
> 
> ***The copy right of all characters belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney. ***

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin's first visit to his grandson Ben Solo went terribly wrong in the end...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sets in the storyline of Star Wars EP7: The Force Awakens.

“Show me the power of the Dark Side … I want to be as strong as you… Grandfather!”

“Ohhhh… No… Not again!” Anakin Skywalker grumbled, squeezing his head as if a ghost could get a bad headache, “Why can’t he just let me rest in peace? He ruins my meditation every time!”

The Netherworld of the Force is usually a serene space. It’s the gathering of the Force in its purest form. The Jedi spirits, or, the Force Ghosts, that stay in there are usually quiet and do not have much connection with the living world. But Anakin was different. He was sensitive to the smallest disturbance in the Force, especially that came from the family of Skywalker. Maybe because, as Yoda pointed out, he was bearing too much guilt and self-condemnation in his heart. That was “unhealthy” for a Jedi spirit and made his Force field unstable. He must use meditation to clear his mind as much as possible.

But obviously, it was extremely difficult, if not totally impossible, in a time when your daughter was at war with another dark force that seemed to have grown out of nowhere although you thought you had already ended their time with the cost of your own life; when your son who was supposed to be the greatest Jedi Master at the time suddenly cut off the connection with the Force and went into self-exile due to some hard-to-explain disaster that put in vain all his effort to restore the Jedi Order; and what’s the worst, when this bitter misfortune of your daughter and son was caused by none other than your own grandson who joined the dark side of the Force and was going to take every wrong step that you had ever taken, just because he worshiped you - the other you that you wished never had existed, but you could do nothing to stop him - not even sniffing at his prayers that sounded like a prolonged puberty crisis.

_You know nothing about the Dark Side, Ben Solo!_

Annoyed, Anakin tried to use his Force energy to reach out to where the prayer came from, but BANG! His energy was deflected, as usual, causing him dizziness.

That was the Force barrier installed by his own daughter, Ben’s mother, Leia. He didn’t know how or why, this barrier seemed to be there since Ben was born. _She hates me so much…_ \- Anakin sighed.

“You heard your grandson’s prayer again?” A glowing figure appeared beside Anakin, wrapped in a worn Jedi robe. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“They are coming more and more often now. Almost every day!” Anakin complained, “But what can I do? The Force barrier set by his mother is too strong. I can’t reach him. I’ve been hearing his silly childish aspiration for so many years. It really made me sick, yet there’s no way I can interfere! Luke is missing, and Leia is unreachable - No Leia, you can’t do this to me! If you blame me for everything, why don’t you give me the chance to fix it?”

“Apparently Leia inherited your stubbornness.” Obi-Wan responded, not without a grain of sarcasm.

Anakin rolled his eyes before turning to him: “Obi-Wan, you must help me…”

“How?”

“Tell Leia to lift the Force barrier.”

“It’s hard to talk with her about you…”

“I know! I know she still hates me. I’m not asking her to forgive me. I’m just trying to help. Ben is my grandson. I can’t just sit here watching him falling deeper and deeper because of me!”

“You’re right… We have to do something…” Obi-Wan pondered, “Since Ben fell into the dark side, he shut himself off in the Force from all of us. But maybe not you. He wants to talk with you. No matter what Leia thinks of you, you are our last hope.”

Obi-Wan went into a meditation gesture, and Anakin waited eagerly. After a while, Obi-Wan’s face expression turned from intense to relax, and he opened eyes.

“What did she say?” Anakin asked with no delay.

“She agreed.” Obi-Wan smiled, “Although she hesitated, there’s not much choice left for her.”

“Yes!” Anakin cheered. He can’t wait to speak to his grandson following his prayer next time. Well, more than “speak”, what Anakin really desired to do was to kick his ass.

“Going to visit him, you are not.” Yoda suddenly appeared.

“Why?” Anakin was baffled, “Finally I can reach out to Ben and turn him back, why can’t I do it?”

“Leia, the problem is not. The dark side of the Force, it is. Unpredictable it will be, too risky, if a Jedi spirit tries to penetrate into the dark side…”

“But Ben needs me!”

“…especially for you.”

“What? Why me?”

“Very unstable, your energy is. Easily distort it, the dark side can.” Yoda answered, “unless you clear all regret and guilt from your mind.”

“Uh… There you go again… Why not letting me do something? Let me help Ben, help Leia! Let me show her I can do something good!”

“Master Yoda,” Obi-Wan chimed in, “I think he’s right. Meditation doesn’t help him much. Maybe fixing things can.”

“Yes! I always found it more useful than meditation. Thank you Obi-Wan, you always know me!” Anakin winked to him.

Yoda didn’t argue any further. He sensed it was the will of the Force. “The choice is yours, Skywalker. Be prepared, then.”

***

“Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, Grandfather, and I will finish what you started…”

When Ben’s prayer came again, Anakin focused his energy on that voice and let it pull him like a magnet. He did not need to move. The Force space transformed and unfolded in front of him, exposing the corner of the living world where Ben Solo was. Leia’s Force barrier was no long there. Anakin could finally see him again, after so many years, since Luke showed him Ben’s image as a handsome young adult some time before he lost contact.

Anakin saw a room that looked like a private chamber in a star destroyer. It was dark, cold, and hollow. Ben was standing there, bending his neck quite low towards a short display stand. He didn’t change much. His appearance had some minor resemblance to Anakin, but was more like his father, Han Solo. Anakin was not happy about that.

And something was placed on top of the stand - a black blob with some irregular shape.

Anakin zoomed in with his spirit eyes.

_What the F…!_

When he saw the charred mask, he almost horrified himself. The eerily deformed “face” of Darth Vader caused a rolling wave of the past surging into his soul. He would have thrown up if he had a torso.

_Wait, this wimpy kid just robbed my grave?_

Anakin felt really sick now…

_For Force’s sake! How did they managed to raise such a freak?_

It might be the madness within him. Anakin’s force energy sent a strong turbulence into the chamber and Vader’s mask began to shake.

Ben’s eyes widened. Fear and excitement spilled all over him at the same time. He knelt down to the mask and prayed even more loudly.

“Grandfather…Lord Vader… I know you can hear me! Please… Please show me the way to the Dark Side!”

Not able to hold himself any longer, Anakin jumped out of the Force space and stood tall in the center of the chamber, ready to teach his grandson a lesson.

“Ben Solo…”

Hearing his own voice, Anakin suddenly freaked out. That was not HIS voice. It was low, deep, and menacing. It was the voice of…

Darth Vader.

Something was terribly wrong. He tried to withdraw, but it was too late. Ben already turned his eyes to him. He stood still, daring not to move a single finger. Only then when he realized he was somehow put back into Vader’s suit, with the suffocating helmet covering his head and the black cloak fluttering vigorously behind him in the Force wave. Around his figure was a glowing red halo.

Although still weightless, he had never felt so heavy in his afterlife. The only difference with the living Vader was that there was no hiss of the air pump, for as a ghost, he didn’t need to breathe.

Yoda had warned him. But he never prepared for this…

Ben slowly stood up. His jaw widely dropped. His whole body was shaking. He couldn’t believe his wildest dream had come true: Darth Vader, his grandfather that he had worshiped for so long, finally showed up to him with the full intimidating image of the dark side.

Luke Skywalker told everyone that Darth Vader redeemed himself and turned back to the light side - _So that was a lie? Without this single weakness, he is now my perfect idol!_

_But why did he call me “Ben Solo”? Alas! He must think I’m not adequate for being Kylo Ren. He’s not satisfied with me!_

“My dear grandfather…” Ben’s voice was trembling. He didn’t even dare to correct Vader for using the wrong name. “I know I still have much to learn. Please lead me deeper into the dark side. I need your guidance!”

He knelt again under Vader’s feet, stretching out both hands as if he wanted to touch the glowing phantom.

_How awkward…_

Anakin tried to calm down, but the effort was in vain. A mixed feeling of fear, anger and loathing had clouded his mind. A small part of him still remembered the purpose he came here was to bring Ben back to the light side.

_Ah, yes, teach this pathetic kid a lesson! Who cares what I look or sound like!_

He looked down to Ben with the black mask, much shinier than the broken one on the stand.

“I found your obsession with me disgusting!”

Again, the voice was deep, dark, and even more menacing. Surprisingly, Anakin felt much better this time after unleashing his emotion.

Ben was scared. He drew back with a jerk, half sitting on the floor. But his eyes were still full of devotion and eagerness.

Anakin could not help but continued scolding: “What do you know about the dark side? You little ignorant kid! You know nothing! The dark side is pain, is suffering! it’s the destruction of everything you care!” He paced one step towards Ben, “Look at your baby face! You were born to a family of heroes. Your mother was the most honorable princess. Your uncle was the greatest Jedi. You had everything and you were so well protected! What have you experienced? Betrayal? Vengeance? Desperation? Death of family? Losing your true love? No! You experienced nothing! You are just a spoiled young man with delusional disorder! But if you continue this way, I assure you, THAT, is all that the dark side will give you!”

Ben stared at his mask, eyes blinking with enlightenment.

 _Good, you did listen to me._ \- Anakin was satisfied.

“Thank you grandfather!” Ben hailed with excitement, “Thank you for showing me the true path to the Dark Side!”

 _What? True path?_ \- Anakin gasped - _Is his brain addled? How could the gene of Skywalker be so terrible?_

_It must be Han Solo! That filthy smuggler!_

Anakin was again filled with rage coming from nowhere: “I don’t know how they taught you but there must be something wrong in your blood. Your mother is tough and intelligent. Your uncle is passionate and wise. Only your father, Han Solo, that weak-minded cynical nonbeliever! He must have passed this idiocy into you!”

Ben’s expression was suddenly frozen. With astonishment and fear, he inhaled promptly. Seconds later, he lowered his head, clenched his fists, and his eyes were on fire.

“I know what I need to do to become stronger…”

 _You know what?_ \- Anakin was more confounded. This twisted conversation was driving him crazy. His mixed emotion became so intense that he felt it would blow him up in no time.

Just at that moment, Anakin heard a voice of Obi-Wan urging him: “Anakin, come back! Quick! You are in danger!”

Before he could respond, a swift breeze surrounded him, pulling him back. Darth Vader’s image shattered and dissolved into the dark Force field, leaving Ben struggling with the horrible idea within his own head, without noticing that Vader had gone.

***

Anakin was back in the Force Netherworld. He curled up on the ground with exhaustion.

“Oh shoot… What happened to me? What have I done?” Anakin murmured with a faint voice.

“You were distorted by the dark side.” Obi-Wan said, “Master Yoda sensed your Force energy was collapsing.”

“Distorted? You mean… I fell into the dark side… again?” Anakin jerked, remembering how he became Darth Vader again.

“Falling, no. But worse.” Yoda floated close, “Before you can fall, dissipate you will, disappear forever.”

Anakin gasped: “That is… the ultimate death? How could it happen?”

“Only the light side can hold an integrated Force spirit.” Obi-Wan explained, “If the spirit is stable, it can be kept intact for a short time in the dark side. But for you… The dark Force eroded you too quickly. If you stayed any longer, you would not be in one piece anymore. I should not have let you go, Anakin. I didn’t expect it was so serious…”

“So I won’t be able to visit Ben again?” Anakin was very disappointed. He knew he made a big mistake in this visit, but there was no chance to correct it anymore.

“Before we find a way to stabilize your energy, no.” Obi-Wan commanded in the tone of a Master. Then he asked, with curiosity: “So how was Ben? What did you tell him? Did he listen to you?”

“I think I screwed up.” Anakin buried his face in his hands. It looked like they didn’t know what exactly had happened, but he didn’t dare to tell them. “I warned him the danger of the dark side. But I don’t think he understood. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Don’t blame yourself. It must be really hard when you were trying to hold yourself together.” Obi-Wan comforted him.

Anakin didn’t know what to say. He took a quick glimpse of Yoda, seeing him with eyes closed, subtly shaking his head.

No. It was much worse than that. And I have a really bad feeling.

***

A couple ofdays later. Anakin in meditation.

He suddenly sensed a strong turbulence in the Force. It was from Ben, who was calling him in his heart, with great agony and struggle.

“Grandfather, help me… help me do this! I must take this step…”

Anakin tried to reach out again but he hesitated. It was too dark, too foggy. Something abysmal was lurking on the other side. Then a piercing scream surged into the Force space.

“No! Stop!” Anakin shouted out. He suddenly realized what had happened.

But it was too late.

Obi-Wan appeared with a face too pale even for a ghost.

“Han is dead. I sensed it from Leia… Ben killed him.”

Anakin sat like a stone. The blue halo around him dimmed to nothingness.

_I totally failed. Leia will never forgive me, not for the slightest possibility._


	2. Reconnection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia was blown out of the cruiser into the vacuum space. In her coma, she was woken up by some one she expected least. Her life was saved, but she felt uneasy about that.
> 
> Luke reconnected himself to the Force, and Anakin visited him soon after. Luke opened his heart to his father to talk about his failure, and softened his attitude towards Ben Solo. However, an ominous prophecy showed up to them, which disturbed Luke even further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sets in the storyline of Star Wars EP8: The Last Jedi.  
> 

Hope had dimmed further and further.

Pessimism started to grow furtively in Leia Organa’s heart for the first time in her life. She counted almost fully on Rey’s quest to find Luke Skywalker, and in the meanwhile trying to keep the last spark of the Resistance alive as long as possible, wishing that someday, magically, someone stronger would stand out to take over her mission, leading them to see the light of the Galaxy. As for herself, she didn’t expect to see that day. She wasn’t sure how much strength was still left within her.

Han was gone forever, together with their son, Ben, when he killed his father.

Just days before that, Obi-Wan’s ghost came to visit her, providing the last solution for turning Ben: Anakin Skywalker. "No!" She refused at first. For her, that man was only the problem, never the solution. “But Anakin is the only Jedi, alive or dead, that may be able to connect with Ben now .” Obi-Wan told her. Jedi? Maybe he was now. But everything he ever brought to Leia was just tragedy and suffering caused by the half-man-half-machine Sith Lord called Darth Vader, even after he died.

It was him who tortured her and Han, killed her friends and countless others, and forced her watching her home planet Alderaan blown up. It was him who brought the biggest horror to the Galaxy and became the worst enemy of what she was fighting for. It was him, when his true biological relationship with Leia was revealed by her political enemies, who jeopardized her entire political life and the opportunity of saving the New Republic from the First Order. And it was also him, who was idolized by Ben Solo and catalyzed his falling into the dark side.

It was always Darth Vader, never Anakin Skywalker.

When they talked about Anakin Skywalker, that name always sounded alien to her.

“You never gave him the chance to make up. “ Obi-Wan pleaded,“If he caused the problem, he should be the one to fix it, right? Besides, what other solutions can you find now?”

Obi-Wan was right. Leia didn’t have much to count on. Although letting “Darth Vader” go to bring his grandson back to the light side sounded ironic to her, she had to try every possible thing if she still wanted to turn Ben back.

Not unexpectedly, Anakin failed. It almost didn’t upset her. Even when Obi-Wan told her that Anakin risked his own spirit to do so, she didn’t show any shift in emotion, except that she got subconsciously desperate, and urged Han to bring their son back. And that, was the most regrettable thing she had ever done.

She didn’t know what Anakin told Ben, but apparently things became much worse after that.

In the end, neither Darth Vader nor Anakin Skywalker had anything good to do with her.

She was all alone now, and Luke was still missing in the Force.

***

As the last Resistance cruiser Raddus was tracked down and attacked by the First Order star destroyers, Leia was standing in the bridge, thinking over their escaping plan. Then she sensed it, the force connection that was lost for years, now close enough for her to detect - the force field of her son, once Ben Solo, now Kylo Ren.

Ben was leading a group of TIE fighters for an assaultto the bridge. When Leia and Ben became face to face in their vessels, they could almost see each other through the space between. They both kept silence in the Force, for there was no more to say. But a small piece of Ben’s mind was moaning and struggling, trying to take control. In the end, he didn’t push the button for firing.

Leia felt it. Maybe Ben still had some good in his heart, but it was too late, for her.

Two other TIE fighters shot torpedoes to the bridge and blew everything out into the vacuum space.

The survival instinct helped Leia to summon the Force that protected her temporarily in the vacuum. But it wouldn’t last long. Her body was frozen immediately, causing her floating in coma.

***

A strong turmoil entered Anakin’s meditation. It came from somewhere he couldn’t tell, but was so intense, so much pain. It was some energy he never sensed before, but he knew it was her.

_Leia!_

_Has she finally decided to contact me?_ \- No, it was not a contact. It was a shared feeling - freezing, stifling - the feeling of the deepest fear and desperation.

“Leia! Leia! My girl! …”

Anakin didn’t know what happened. With panic, he sent out his calling into the Force with full strength.

***

The Force field began to gather around Leia. Her body was slowly warning up. In her unconsciousness, she heard some vague and unfamiliar voice from far far away, waking her up little by little.

“Leia! My girl…”

_Who is that? It sounds like a young father calling his baby girl, but it’s hoarse and anxious, and he’s calling my name…_

_Father?_

She suddenly opened her eyes, realizing who it was: It was the ghost with whom she shut off connection in the Force and never wanted to speak to.

But now, in her moment of dying, he woke her up and sent her strength using his voice, his real voice, that was so different from the dark menacing mechanical sound.

Leia felt blank for a moment.

_Why not Luke? Why not Obi-Wan? Why him? Is the Force giving him a second chance to make it up with me?_

_It must be a joke of the Force. I’m not as generous as Luke. Even if I owe him my life, I will never forgive him. I have sweared!_

_But his voice was heartbreaking…_

Leia clenched her teeth. There was no time for ruminating. She stretched out one hand, gathering all the strength she had left, and let the Force lead her back to the cruiser, where she was saved by the crew on board.

In her last waking moment before falling back to coma again, a question flashed upon her:

_How many evil deeds are enough to make one truly beyond redemption and forgiveness, even as a father, or a son?_

***

Squatting on the cliff of Ahch-To, facing the dark waves of the ocean under the moon, Luke Skywalker stretched out his hands on the stone, and opened himself again to the Force, after five years’ disconnection.

The first connection he found in the Force was his sister, Leia, who was woken up from coma by the strong perturbation he sent across the Galaxy.

And Anakin sensed it too. In no time, he appeared beside Luke.

“Finally you’re back, my son! I’ve missed you so much!”

Luke stood up, “Father…” His hair had turned gray and silver, his face had more wrinkles, and his eyes were full of sorrow.

Anakin’s light mood of reunion sank a bit. He didn’t expect his son aging so fast in these years. “Look at you. What have you done to yourself?”

“I failed, father. I failed Leia, I failed Han, and I failed… you. You gave up your life for bringing balance to the Force but now, it’s all gone…” Luke bit his lip.

“The force has its own way, Luke. They said I was the Chosen One. Maybe I was. But the flow of the Force is driven by all lives in the galaxy. It’s always changing. Don’t be mad about yourself. Just tell me, what happened? Why did you leave?”

“Ben, he turned to the dark side.”

“I know.”

“And it’s all my fault. Leia and I sensed the darkness in Ben and she trusted me to train him in the right way, but I failed to stop Snoke seducing him. He destroy the Jedi temple, killed his peers and joined Snoke and the First Order. I… I created Kylo Ren, father, just like Obi-Wan created Darth Vader…”

“That indeed sounds familiar to me…” Anakin murmured, “And so you blamed and exiled yourself because of this?” He looked straightly into Luke’s eyes, “Obi-Wan had failed much more catastrophically than you and I had done much more damage to the Galaxy than Ben… I’m really sorry… But looking back, I don’t think Obi-Wan had much to be culpable for, neither did you.”

“But it was me who added the last straw.” Luke’s teeth clenched, “I saw horrible things. I was so scared of the dark side hidden in him. In a flashing moment, I ignited my lightsaber upon him when he was asleep…”

“You did what?”

“Yes, I had a flash of intention to kill him. Although it was gone instantly. But he saw it, and revenged, and… that was the point of no return.”

Anakin's eyes widened. “Luke, this was not you. You were the one who saved me, even when you knew how deep in the dark side I was! How could you think of killing your own padawan nephew just because you saw some darkness within him? I don’t understand!”

“I had visions of the future, father. In you, I mean, in Vader, I felt you would turn back to the light side. But in Ben, I only saw him turning away. Since he was born, both Leia and I have seen his future of becoming another… Darth Vader.”

Anakin went into silence. A rueful smile appeared on his face before he spoke again.

“Is that the reason why Leia tried to hide Ben away from me?”

“She was scared. She didn’t want you to interfere with Ben…”

“So… She never trusted me. I’m forever a monster in her mind.”

“I tried to explain to her but…”

Anakin raised his hand to stop Luke. He had already heard too much of these words from Luke and Obi-Wan. If a ghost had a heart, it would have been aching badly for him now.

“You never asked me how I fell into the dark side.” Said Anakin after a brief silence.

“Obi-Wan told me that he failed you and Palpatine seduced you…”

“Ha, it’s so kind of him trying to make your Jedi father look innocent in your eyes.” Anakin smiled, “But that’s not the full story.” He looked up into the endless ocean, “I saw a vision. A vision of your mother, dying in childbirth. I believed that was the doomed future, so I went crazy to try to prevent it from happening. But in the end, it was myself who made it happen.”

Luke gasped. He immediately saw how much similarity it had with what happened to him and Ben.

“You see, Luke, the vision of the future can be misleading. Sometimes it’s a trap of the dark side. You were fortunate not to turn into the dark side yourself, but it still got you. It destroyed your last hope for the Jedi. You fell into that trap, too.”

Luke slowly lowered his head. He had known there was something wrong with himself, but he had never thought he had been repeating his father’s mistake.

“I should have known better. I should have told you about Ben’s situation much earlier.” He frowned in pain, “Actually I had many questions about the dark side and thought you might know the answer, but I didn’t dare to ask you…”

“You didn’t trust me either?”

“It’s not like that, father. I just… just don’t want to burden you with the past.”

“The past is not a burden. It’s a learning, a resource.”

“But Obi-Wan asked me not to disturb you with the unpleasant memories. He said you needed to get rid of that guilt in order to stabilize…”

“Stabilize the force energy.”

“Yes.”

“That’s what Master Yoda told me to do. But it’s useless. They all want me to separate myself from Darth Vader, but I can’t just ignore what I’ve done and pretend I’m a different person. I was able to walk away from Anakin Skywalker when I was Darth Vader, but when I’m Anakin Skywalker again, no, all the past is with me now.”

“Father, you are already forgiven. You can let go…”

“Forgiven only by a few, not all others, not even Leia! And I know… she never will… With this deadly affair of Ben, I’m only bringing her more harm.”

“Ben’s fall had nothing to do with you. You didn’t even see him…”

“But he idolizes Darth Vader. It’s what I have done that inspired him!”

Luke was stunned, not by what Anakin was saying, but by the huge pain he felt from the Force field of his father.

“I tried to fix it. I thought he might listen to me, but I was too sure of myself. He only listened to what he wanted to hear.”

“You finally saw him?”

“Obi-Wan asked Leia to remove the Force barrier. But now I see it was a big mistake. Leia was right. I should not have appeared anywhere near Ben. I must be cursed…This is a punishment…I can never git rid of it!”

“What happened?”

“I… I was Vader again when I saw Ben…”

“How is that possible?”

“It was the dark side of the Force. I underestimated its effect on me. I didn’t totally lose my mind but I got into a strange rage. And with that appearance to Ben, he misunderstood every word of me…”

“What did you say?”

“It was me who caused Han’s death.”

“What?” Luke was shocked, “Why? You told Ben to kill him?”

“I didn’t…but I think that was what he heard.”

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it’s not your fault. This kid is just hopeless.”

“No.” Anakin disagree, “I saw his struggle. He was still unsettled, like the very early days of… of myself… He has a raw, untamed power, but swinging… He’s not deep in it yet, Luke, there’s still hope, a lot of hope.”

“But even as Vader, you wouldn’t kill your own father, would you?”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t have a father…”

“Fine…”

“But I know Ben wasn’t determined to kill Han. He was just… stimulated…”

“But you didn’t want to kill me even when the Emperor urged you to. I knew you restrained your force in our fight!”

With the memory suddenly brought back by Luke, Anakin couldn’t help but smiling in his heart. That was the warmest moment in his Sith life when he decided to sacrifice himself to fulfill his son. “It’s not the same, Luke. Believe me, Ben is naive, foolish, and maniac, but he’s not that kind of evil creature you are thinking about.”

Alright, the former Sith Lord must know it better. Luke softened, “Well, even if there’s still light in him, what can we do? Should I go after him?”

“Not yet. He only wants to kill you now. But I can go.”

“You said the dark side…”

“Yes, I need to figure out how to stabilize my spirit in the dark Force field. And I need your help.” Anakin started to look around, “This is the first Jedi Temple and there should be a bunch of Sacred Jedi Texts here right?”

“That’s true. They are in the tree library.” Luke pointed to the direction uphill.

“Good. Although I’m not a fan of the ancient lore, I’ll see if I can find something useful.”

Anakin followed Luke, floating to the tree library. There in the heart of the giant trunk lied several bound books and scrolls, all in very antique texture.

“Have you read them all?” Asked Anakin.

“Just part of. They are dry. And I don’t remember reading anything about the dark side.”

“Hm, I should have expected it. Jedi never teach the real knowledge about the dark side, except to avoid it like plague.”

“Father…” Luke stared, “That doesn’t sound like a Jedi talking. But frankly, I have to agree with you.”

“Oh…” Anakin found himself unconsciously repeating what Darth Sidious used to say to him, “Damn it. But some of his words do make sense.”

“Who?”

“Never mind.” Anakin raised his eyebrows, “Help me searching the texts.”

Luke felt headache looking at the stack of books. “That will be tedious. Each book has thousands of pages and they didn’t even make an index!”

“Ah, I see you hate reading as much as I did.” Anakin chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’ll do the searching myself.”

He floated above the book stack and sat in the air with legs crossed. Using his spirit’s eyes, he quickly looked through the texts trying to find the words “dark side”.

“Got one.” Before long, he spoke to Luke, eyes still closed, “Take the book Aionomica Volumn 2, turn to page 8325, read.”

Luke took the heavy book, followed his father’s instruction and read out in the ancient Jedi tongue:

“When the Force Dyad is formed, it will resurrect the Dark Side to its full power, and the Chosen One will meet… his end…”

Deadly silence.

Anakin opened his eyes, baffled, “What is that?”

Luke started to turn the pages madly, trying to figure out the context. “It looks like some… prophecy… but no indication of time…” He panted.

“A Dyad? That’s interesting.” Anakin’s voice was much calmer, “Do you know what a Dyad is? It’s the strongest connection in the Force between two people. They can be connected mentally and even physically without the restriction of space. I remember it was also mentioned in some Sith text…”

“Father!” Luke interrupted, “You didn’t hear… ‘the Chosen One’?”

“Ah, yes. So what?”

“He will… will…” Luke stammered, unable to speak out that phrase.

“Don’t worry Luke. It has nothing to do with me. The Force Dyad is such an ancient thing. No one alive has ever seen it. As for the Chosen One…hm, there might be hundreds in the whole Jedi history, who knows which one it refers to? This prophecy may have already been realized long ago.“

“But I have only heard of one Chosen One. That is you, father.”

“Or it might be a new one in the far future.”

“Father…”

“Come on! I’m dead. My job is done. I’m ended already! Whatever happens in the living world has nothing to do with me. There’s only peace in the Netherworld. How can anything hurt a ghost?” Anakin got impatient, “Or maybe I’m not the Chosen One at all!” He paused, gazing at Luke. “I killed Sidious not because I wanted to bring balance to the Force. It was because of you, Luke!”

Luke’s eyes became watery, “But you still fulfilled the prophecy.”

“Did I?” Anakin asked wryly, “Look what is happening now. How long was the Force being ‘balanced’? Do you think the Force waited for thousands of years, just for the Chosen One to bring back the balance that can last for only ten years?”

Luke was at a loss for words.

“You look disappointed.” Anakin lowered his voice, “To tell you the truth, I never wanted to be the Chosen One. Because of this title, I lost everything… ”

“I understand, father.” Luke said with a lump in the throat, “No matter what, it should not be your burden anymore. You deserve peace now.”

“So, don’t worry. There won’t be a Dyad, there won’t be any resurrection, and nothing will happen to the Chosen One, no matter who that is.”

Anakin was smiling, and Luke tried to smile back, although both of them knew that the prophecy showed up for some reason.

Just at that time, a muffled roar came from underneath. It was not an ordinary sound, but more like a wave propagating in the Force.

“The cave!” Luke was alarmed.

“This is dark…” Anakin immediately felt it, “And this feeling…” He suddenly opened his eyes widely.

“What’s the matter?” Luke sensed there was something more than the darkness.

Anakin didn’t answer, but just asked: “Who’s in there?”

“It must be the girl, Rey.”

“The girl sent by Leia to find you?”

“Yes. She has a strong power of the dark side, comparable to that of Ben.”

“Did you train her?”

“A little bit… But I’m not sure I was doing the right thing…”

“You fear she’ll become another Kylo Ren...”

“I… I don’t know. She seems to have a mixed power of the light and the dark. And she has our lightsaber…”

“The blue one? That’s remarkable.” Anakin stroked his chin. "How did she find it? Or, how did the lightsaber find HER? Kyber crystals recognize people… I remember you lost it a long time ago, in Bespin, right?”

“Yes, when you chopped off my hand…”

“You don’t need to mention that detail, Luke.” Anakin rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I feel this is not a coincidence.”

“You mean she might be related to you?”

“Of course not!” Anakin felt a little insulted, “I only have you and Leia! Or is it you?”

“You must be kidding, father…”

Anakin laughed, but the laugher didn’t last long. He felt something really strange in that girl. There was some kind of connection he could not explain.

***

Unable to find anything useful in the Sacred texts, Anakin went back to the Force Netherworld after asking Luke to watch that girl closely. When Luke returned to the hut to find Rey, he saw something that blew his mind.

Rey sat beside the bonfire, carefully stretching out one hand. When Luke looked more closely in the Force, he saw the other side. Rey was touching another hand, a hand that belonged to… Ben Solo.

“…connected mentally and even physically without the restriction of space…”

_This is a… Force Dyad!_

“Stop ! ! !”

Luke shouted with panic and rage. The shock wave of his force blew up half of the hut.

He didn’t know that Rey was in a rage too. She just learned from Ben that Luke tried to kill him in his sleep. They fought like two animals losing their mind. With Rey unleashing her power of the dark side, Luke was stricken down. He had to tell Rey the truth about what happened to him and Ben that night. But when Rey said Ben could be turned back to the light side - Just like Anakin told him earlier, Luke knew it would be much more complicated than that.

_The Dyad… then the resurrection of the Dark Side… then the Chosen One…_

_No! I can’t let it happen!_

“This is not going to be the way you think!”

“Rey, don’t do this…”

Luke was almost begging her, but Rey was so determined to go to turn Ben that no words could change her mind.

Watching Rey left, Luke felt he was seeing his younger self going to the Death Star in the Endor system. But this time he sensed a totally different atmosphere. He suddenly saw the other side of the impulsive courage and righteous bravery carried by Rey and the young Luke, something he never thought about: In the end, who was it that took the consequence?

Last time, his father died. And this time…

He was so afraid to think any further. The prophecy seemed to be telling something even more grave.

_The prophecy…_

He suddenly turned around to the tree library, eyes full of fury.

_The deceptive visions, the poisonous prophecy, the useless Jedi Order, the twisted will of the Force! - All shall be ended!_

Driven by the furious anger, Luke arrived at the tree library with a fire torch. He was going to burn it down.

In his glimmer of hope, if the Jedi Order were ended, if all the relics were gone, it might be possible that the prophecy would be no more…


	3. The Will of the Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three ghosts and an old man. Masters and apprentices. The past and the future.

“When the Force Dyad is formed, it will resurrect the Dark Side to its full power, and the Chosen One will meet his end.”

Sitting in a meditation gesture, Anakin closed his eyes. His face was expressionless.

After returning to the quiet Force Netherworld, he just kept sitting still. The prophecy read by Luke was echoing in his head, yet he never felt so tranquil since he became a Force ghost.

For thirty years, Anakin’s afterlife was far from rest-in-peace, rather, it was another kind of suffering. He could feel everyone he had killed in the Force. Although some said they had forgiven him, there were countless other lives that had merged into the Force, who would never get the chance to say anything, yet their aura remained around him, haunting him with all the memories of the past.

And among them, there was Padmé. He destroyed her, in the same way that he destroyed Anakin. The only difference was, Anakin could come back, but Padmé never would. He kept searching in the Force, wishing that he could get some signal of the lost love, at least some sign of forgiveness. He searched and searched, only feeling more and more pain and sadness, until it became an endless nightmare. He even started to believe that Padmé’s spirit was speaking through Leia to show her hate to him. Leia would never forgive him, and neither would Padmé.

And then there was his grandson, Ben Solo. The resemblance of Ben’s path to his past self was harrowing, as if someone deliberately manipulated it to remind him who he really was, that the dark path was always inevitable, and he, the sinner, was never redeemable. The fact that he could only witness Ben’s fall but was unable to interfere, was just like… just like when he held Leia firmly in his grip, forcing her watching her home planet Alderaan blown up by the Death Star.

He was almost sure it was all karma. The only reason he still existed as a conscious ghost was to be put through this infinite excruciation.

Yoda and Obi-Wan tried to help him relieving that feeling, but it never worked. The truth was, he didn’t want to be relieved. He knew he deserved it.

Finally, there came the prophecy, a new one that was even more obscure than the previous one, - or, is it the other half of the old prophecy? It sounded ominous, but in the moment he heard it from Luke, he suddenly saw an exit.

_It will end._

His denial in front of Luke was just for making him less worried. Deep in his heart, Anakin knew the prophecy meant something to himself -he, as the Chosen One, had not fulfilled his destiny yet, and there was still a debt to pay back. That explained why without any knowledge or training, he became a Force ghost spontaneously after death. Rather than a reward for bringing balance to the Force, it was an unfinished mission that he still had to carry on.

"A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him will ultimate balance in the Force be restored."

That was the prophecy Qui-Gon first found. And this new one just added more details to it: His final destiny would only come when the Force Dyad was formed.

Perhaps this time, that destiny could truly save him, once and for all.

 _And now I’m really curious to see how this Force Dyad plays out…_ \- He searched in the Force - _Seems like Luke found something…_

***

Luke sat dully on a black boulder at the hillside. Yoda’s ghost just visited him, and now the giant tree that used to be the tree library was burning brightly under the night sky. He was pondering on everything he had been through today. Although Yoda asked him to pass on what he had learned to Rey and trust her with the future, his mind was still unsettled.

When he looked up, he saw Anakin showing up again.

“Rey and Ben have formed a Force Dyad. I saw it…” Luke’s concern was quite distinct.

“Rey and… Ben? So it indeed has something to do with us…” Anakin was a little surprised, but he remained calm, only slightly tilting his head. “That’s why you burned the tree library?”

“It was Master Yoda…” Luke explained with embarrassment, “Well, I did have the impulsion but I quickly realized it was foolish. And yet Master Yoda did it for me anyway… I…”

“Haha, he was fooling with you. He already knew that Rey took away all the sacred texts.”

“Did she?” Luke felt relieved, “So Master Yoda was making fun of me…”

“He always does, doesn’t he?” Anakin chuckled, “Obi-Wan told me how much fun it was watching him training you on Dagobah. It was a shame I wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, it would be much more fun if you joined us.” Luke pulled down his mouth corners, “It’s not time for jokes father.”

Anakin sensed his worry. He was about to soothe him when a voice came from behind.

“Anakin, there is a long line waiting to greet Luke. We let you go first and you already took a big chunk of time. Why are you still here?”

Both Anakin and Luke turned, finding Obi-Wan standing beside them, making a funny face.

“I’m Luke’s father. Problem?” Anakin raised his eye brows.

“Always so arrogant…” Obi-Wan frowned, “And I don’t like it when you tell others about our private conversation.”

“Luke is not others. He’s my son.” Anakin looked at him with a manner of triumph. “You are just embarrassed to let him know that he was a cute subject for two old hermits to find fun in their boring seclusion.”

Luke cringed when he heard the word “cute” applied to himself.

“That’s… nonsense.” Obi-Wan denied, “We were seriously training him to fight the evil… Sorry, I should not have used that word.”

Anakin let out a sigh, “You really don’t need to take extra caution to avoid mentioning my past, Obi-Wan. I’m not a youngling that needs overprotection of feelings. I already have such a big son.” He looked toward Luke.

“A son that looks much more mature than you.”

Luke shrugged when Anakin gave him a “heard what he said?” face before he turned to Obi-Wan. “Judging me by my appearance? Is that what Master Yoda taught you?”

“Not judging, it just keeps reminding me my young Jedi apprentice in the time of the Clone Wars.” Obi-Wan’s voice suddenly became much softer. There was no irony in the tone at all.

Anakin paused. He then tried to keep joking. “Oh that’s unfair. You can’t treat me like an apprentice while my son is already the grand master!”

“I hope I could.” Obi-Wan didn’t smile, however, “I hope we could relive that time again, in a totally different way. I hope I could give you more protection…”

“Stop it Obi-Wan…” Anakin felt a lump in the throat. He didn’t like to handle this emotion in front of his son. “Didn’t you come to visit Luke? I’ll leave him to you now.”

“Wait, father!” Luke called out, “We have not finished our discussion yet. And I think Obi-Wan should know it too.”

“Know what?” Asked Obi-Wan.

Anakin rushed to object, “No, you don’t want to tell Obi-Wan about it.”

“Mind trick doesn’t work on me, father.” Luke teased.

“I’m not using a mind trick!” Anakin threw up his hands, “What good would it do to let everyone know?”

“Obi-Wan is not everyone.” Luke corrected.

“You see…” Obi-Wan snickered, “Like father like son.”

Before Anakin could oppose further, Luke stretched out one hand, waving it in front of the burning tree. The smoke gathered in the Force, and formed a string of ancient Jedi words floating on the bright burning background, just like what was shown in the Jedi text.

“We saw this prophecy in one of the first Jedi texts.” Luke told Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan read it with astonishment before the smoke dissipate into air again. The heaviness he suddenly sensed dumbfounded him. He turned to Anakin with a deeply sympathetic look. “This is… cruel…”

Anakin felt uneasy under the gaze of them. He tried to lighten the mood. “It’s not the Jedi way to worry about the future. Isn’t it what you taught me my master?”

Obi-Wan couldn’t answer it. Yes, it was he who told young Anakin to ignore and suppress his worries about the future, but what did that lead to? For the twenty years in his seclusion, as he reflected on every piece that might have gone wrong, regret and empathy slowly replaced anger and disappointment in his heart. When Anakin finally came back to the light side, the last thing Obi-Wan ever wanted was losing him again. 

_Blast it! Why is the damned fate of the “Chosen One” still haunting him!_

Seeing Obi-Wan in silence, Luke reminded his father, “It’s already happening! I’ve seen the Dyad they formed and now Rey is going to meet Ben…”

“The prophecy can be as delusive as the premonitions.” Said Anakin, “Luke, don’t fall into that trap again.”

“I won’t.” Luke raised his head to look through Anakin’s transparent face, eyes shining with affection. “But father, don’t get yourself involved in any of this. Stay safe in your Force Netherworld. Leave it to us, to the living world. Please…”

“Luke…” Anakin put one hand onto Luke’s shoulder. The blue glow lighted up his silver hairs. “You’ve already taken too much on your shoulders.”

“No, not enough. I should not have been hiding for these years and let Leia fight the war alone, and I can’t let you step into this mess again. It’s all on me now.” Luke reached out his left hand to touch Anakin’s. He could feel the cool tingling on his skin. “Promise me, father, stay away from it.”

Anakin sighed, lowering his head. How could he make such a promise, when his feelings told him that this prophecy was about him?

“You should listen to your son, Anakin.” Obi-Wan seconded, “You have already risked yourself trying to turn Ben back. I won’t allow this to happen again.”

“Come on!” Anakin was frustrated, “You two old men are too sentimental!”

It was Luke’s turn to complain now. “Amazing! What did you call me? Perhaps you do need extra protection my young father!”

“Stop scrambling for the responsibility! The Force will lead the way.”

It was a voice echoing from the air. When they looked into where it was from, they saw an orb lighted up above the sea, glimmering with blue aura. It floated closer and closer when expanding into a shape more and more like a human. Within seconds, Qui-Gon Jinn was standing in front of them, dressed in the traditional Jedi robe, long hair glittering with golden sparkles.

Anakin and Obi-Wan almost shouted out simultaneously: “Master?”

Luke stared at him in amazement. He only met Qui-Gon for a few times in his life, and usually he only heard his voice. Since a visible apparition was not formed when Qui-Gon became a Force ghost, it would take him extra effort to maintain an image. Anakin and Obi-Wan told Luke how much they admired Qui-Gon. Not just because he was their respectable Jedi master, but also for his wisdom and open mind. Instead of following the teaching of the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon preferred following the Force itself and discovering new knowledge that was not taught before. Thanks to him, Yoda, Obi-Wan and other Jedi learned how to retain identity after death. And it did not stop there. Even now, they could still learn from him for his new discoveries. Luke also heard that Qui-Gon did not like staying in one place. He was always traveling to unknown spaces and dimensions of the Force, sometimes disappearing for years before coming back to visit his friends.

And yet now, Qui-Gon was standing in front of Luke in full shape.

“Young Skywalker, “ He smiled tenderly, “welcome back to the Force.”

Anakin was so glad to see him again. Qui-Gon was the one who always gave him peace of mind. But he was also surprised that Qui-Gon showed up so formally this time. 

“Luke, see how much honor you are given?” He jested with Luke, “Even Master Qui-Gon came all the way to greet you face to face.”

“Thank you, Master Qui-Gon.” Luke was humbled.

Qui-Gon nodded to Luke, then turned to Anakin and Obi-Wan. “I’m not just coming for Luke. I also come for the prophecy.”

Obi-Wan shrugged, “Why am I not surprised?”

 _Alright, it indeed was no surprise._ \- Anakin blinked his eyes blankly. - _How could a prophecy escape the eyes of the expert? And if he knows, Yoda must have known as well. Perfect! Now everyone does know it!_

“Do you also believe it, Master?” Asked Obi-Wan.

“As much as I believe the other one.” Qui-Gon answered.

“But I’m confused.” Obi-Wan wondered, “If the destiny of the Chosen One meets with the resurrection of the dark side, doesn’t it conflict with the old prophecy saying that he would bring balance back to the Force?”

“It’s not a conflict. Rather, it’s a complement.” Said Qui-Gon, “I have studied many ancient prophecies and found that most of them are not singletons. You would see pieces of them scatter in different places and emerge at different times. The prophets who wrote them could only capture a partial, sometimes even misleading, aspect.”

“If both are true, does that imply we were all wrong by believing that my father had already restored the balance in the Force?” Luke asked.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Anakin shrugged, downplaying all the concerns they had, “I guess I’ll just do it again.”

“That’s actually what puzzled me.” Qui-Gon turned to him, “Force ghosts have many limits. We are not supposed to interfere with the living world too much, and we can’t change things as we wish. I’ve never seen a ghost making much impact on the Force before. But maybe there’s something beyond our perception.”

Anakin felt deflated. There was not much he could do after all. Although death was not the end for him, it was not living either. It was draining to think about the endless purposeless days lying ahead, with no way to make amends to the past. He only wished he could do something, anything, for those he cared that were still out there, but even that was luxury.

Unlike Anakin, Luke and Obi-Wan were relieved hearing Qui-Gon’s words. They didn’t care if Anakin would be the hero to save the galaxy again, as long as he could stay safely as every other ghost. Probably the prophecy was just saying the Chosen One would no longer take the responsibility. After all, the previous prophecy only said that the ultimate balance in the Force would be restored ‘through’ the Chosen One. It didn’t say he could not pass on the destiny.

“The key is the Dyad now.” Qui-Gon continued, “Ben and Rey are the ones that will shape the future.”

This suddenly reminded Luke of his second biggest concern. “But the prophecy says the Dyad will resurrect the dark side, so will Rey fall into the dark side too?”

“It’s possible.” Qui-Gon answered, “But they both have their own choice to make. What will happen on the path to their destiny and beyond is still up to them. The prophecy cannot determine everything.”

 _Their choice?_ \- Anakin looked from Obi-Wan to Luke. Those choices he had made were of enormous consequence. He couldn’t let Ben make the wrong choice anymore, while he still had chance to influence him.

“That’s right!” He bursted out, “I need to talk with Ben again. He will listen…”

“I disagree!” Obi-Wan cut him off, “You forget how dangerous it was last time?”

“I know I need to find a way to stabilize my energy in the dark side…” Anakin suddenly realized he might find the answer now. He then turned to Qui-Gon, “Master, do you happen to know the solution?”

Qui-Gon didn’t expect this question. He fell into a brief silence. Did he know? Of course he did. And he could guess what happened to Anakin when he imprudently visited his fallen grandson, so eager to persuade him to come back to the light side. He knew it so well because it was not any knowledge he learned from the Jedi lore, instead, he learned it from his own experience - yes, when he tried to do the same thing himself a long time ago…

“Yes, I know it.” Qui-Gon finally responded, with a much lower tone, “But…”

“You are always so helpful, Master Qui-Gon!” Anakin was exited and did not wait for Qui-Gon to finish his words, until he heard, “But I don’t recommend it to you.”

“Why?” The frustration was there again.

“The solution is very simple. But when you know how, you’ll find it useless, and painful.”

“Pain is the last thing I would worry about… but why do you say it’s useless?”

“Anakin…” Qui-Gon sounded a little hesitant, “Do you know how I learned this trick?”

“You always have the guidance of the Force…”

“Yes, the Force taught me. But I learned it because of you.”

“Me? How?” Anakin was intrigued.

“Do you remember I told you that I was watching you throughout your life?”

For a second, Anakin was in a daze. He used to thought that Qui-Gon saying he “watched” him was some kind of metaphor. But if he meant it literally…

“No way… You came to see me when I was… in the dark side? But why did you never speak to me?”

“That is exactly what you asked about: To retain yourself in the dark side, you must strictly follow the will of the Force, abandon all of your own intention, and restrain yourself from any action that can change the course. If you dare to try anything different, the Force will always strike back by bending the consequence to its will - and that was what I learned through trials and failures.”

“What happened? I don’t remember anything…” Anakin tried to search in Vader’s memory about Qui-Gon’s appearance, but there was none.

“It was the twist of the Force. You never realized it was me. When I tried to speak to you, it only became some voice that evoked more pain and anger in you, which eventually made your dark side grow. In the end I had to close my mouth entirely and suppress my own feelings. Only by being fully silent could I avoid the urge of trying to bring you back.”

Anakin was at a loss for words. That was the pain and uselessness Qui-Gon was talking about. He did remember that in the early days of his Sith life, there had been moments when he heard some indistinguishable voice calling to him, especially in his meditation. The voice had softened his mind for a while but in the end it had always led to more hatred toward his own weakness. He had thought it was just illusion created by the not-quite-dead Jedi in his heart, but only today did he know some of them had come from Qui-Gon, the Master that had never given up on him even in the darkest days.

And now he understood what was really happening when he visited Ben. He was too upset and impatient with his grandson. The Force was actually using his impulsion to drag Ben deeper into the dark side!

A shiver went down Anakin’s spine.

“Anakin,” Qui-Gon continued, “As I said, this is the limitation of us force ghosts. We shall only pass what is needed to the living world when it’s the will of the Force.”

“The will of the Force?” Anakin grimaced, “So it was the will of the Force that I fell deeper and deeper into the dark side, and now it’s also the will of the Force for the same thing to happen to my grandson?”

“You know there is a way out, just not from a ghost. That was why I asked Yoda to train Luke.”

“And this time it’s that girl Rey?” Anakin snorted, “Is it the tradition of Jedi to always hide behind an innocent small fry and expect that they become the savior that takes on all the burden of saving the universe? Why do we even still exist if we are just passively waiting for them to do everything?”

“That’s an interesting point of view…” Qui-Gon didn’t rebut, instead, he even sounded a little delighted, “We shall see what we can do. But for now, we must be patient, Anakin.”

“I can’t just wait!” Anakin began to pace back and forth, “At least now I know how I can visit Ben again… Thank you Master!”

“No, Anakin, I don’t think it’s a good idea...”

“Don’t worry. I will remember what you said. I won’t try to change anything.”

“Then why do you still take the risk?”

Anakin paused. He tilted his head to look straightly into Qui-Gon’s eyes, “Then why? Why did YOU come to see me even after you knew it was useless?”

Silence again. He could feel Qui-Gon’s energy softened into an empathetic mood. Qui-Gon walked closer to Anakin to hold one of his arms in his gentle grip.

“I felt your pain, your suffering. I saw your endless effort trying to resurrect Padmé. You were so lonely and desperate… I just wanted to be there for you, waiting for the moment that you could come back, because I’ve always believed that you were the Chosen One.”

“Qui-Gon…” Warmth and sorrow flew into Anakin’s heart at the same time. “You were sharing those sufferings together with me… I’ve owed you so much…”

“You owe me nothing, Anakin. It’s my own choice.”

“Then,” Anakin returned to a more insistent tone, “I think my answer to your question is the same. I want to know more about Ben. I want to know what made him fall.”

Qui-Gon conceded with a smile, “I understand now. But you need to be very careful.”

“Yes,” Anakin assured, “I have a plan.”

Just when the two were talking, Obi-Wan was also thrown into a bewilderment by Qui-Gon’s revelation, although he was bothered by a different question.

“Master Qui-Gon,” He finally brought it up, “Why did you never tell me I could visit Anakin as a Force ghost? You warned me not to try it instead, and I just followed your order! That’s unfair!”

“What good would it do for you to haunt Darth Vader?” Qui-Gon darted him a taunting look, “Do you think you would be able to hold yourself when watching the consequence you had caused in his meditation chamber or Bacta tank?”

Anakin felt a shudder when he tried to imagine the hypothetic scenario that Obi-Wan appeared in front of Darth Vader while he exposed all his vulnerability from flesh to soul. That would definitely destroy Vader, making him a monster of pure wrath. - _Thank Qui-Gon for making such wise decision and thank Obi-Wan for being such a obedient apprentice! -_ Anakin gave Obi-Wan a bitter smile, seeing him slightly opened his mouth, but then bit his lip in resignation.

“What consequence?” Luke asked Qui-Gon out of curiosity.

“The reason why Vader was put into that life supporting suit.” Qui-Gon answered plainly.

“Wait…” Luke turned to Anakin, “You told me it was an accident…”

“An accident?” Obi-Wan’s eyes widened, “You never told Luke the truth?”

“It was the truth… from some point of view.” Anakin curled his lip, “It was an accident caused by my recklessness, wasn’t it?”

For all these years they spent together in the Force Netherworld, Obi-Wan never had the courage to talk with Anakin about that event and both of them had this tacit agreement to avoid mentioning it. He knew what he did was cruel. He used one of the most merciless marks of contact for lightsaber combat on his own apprentice, the mark that was actually forbidden to be used on any life form. He regretted it even more when he found out that Anakin was not dead. He knew how much Vader would hate him because he was responsible to the pain and suffering that had fed Vader’s dark side endlessly. When he told Luke he “created” Vader, he meant it, not just as some ordinary failure of teaching as Luke understood. Yet he had never known what Anakin thought about it. Did he still carry grudge? Did he keep silence on it just because it was too difficult to speak about among other complicated things? And yet now, from what he told Luke, he took it so lightly, as if nothing serious had ever happened…

Obi-Wan felt an urge to give Anakin a tight hug.

Luke sighed, gazing compassionately at Anakin and Obi-Wan. “Now I see both of you have deliberately hidden something from me, trying to let me believe you were the one to blame and the other was mostly innocent…”

“It’s all over now, Luke.” Anakin cut in, “There’s no need to dwell on it.”

“I just wanted to say…” Luke grinned, “I feel so happy for you, father and Master Obi-Wan.”

A strip of white light started to glimmer on the horizon of the ocean. Dawn was coming to the small island of Ahch-To.

“We have stayed for too long.” Anakin remarked, “It’s time for me to drop in on my grandson now.”

“And not before long will Rey reach his cruiser. You need to hurry up, father.” Said Luke, “I’ll go into meditation to watch them in the Force.”

“Good.” Qui-Gon nodded, “I’ll continue my investigation, and hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

“Investigation?” It caught Obi-Wan’s attention, “Of some arcane matters?”

“You shall see.” Qui-Gon smiled mysteriously.

“Well,” Obi-Wan shrugged, “may the force be with all of us.”


End file.
